Royal Canin announces inaugural service dog training partnership

GUELPH, ON, Jan. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - It may surprise you to know that a significant percentage of Canadians are currently on waiting lists for service dogs, and the demand is increasing at a considerable pace. Service dogs are well known to provide crucial support to individuals with certain physical, mental and emotional challenges. Service dogs help Canadians in need gain confidence and maintain their independence, supporting them with daily activities that they might not otherwise perform.

At Royal Canin, we believe that pets make the world better, and our purpose is to make a better world for pets. We are proud to announce our inaugural Service Dog Training Partnership with Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs, which officially launches on January 1, 2016.

Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs is a grassroots organization dedicated to providing fully trained service dogs and ongoing handling support to physically and emotionally challenged Canadians and their families, assisting them to become more independent in their Southeastern Ontario communities. Kingston 4 Paws provides service dogs to families living with autism, children and adults who struggle with mobility issues, seizure response dogs and service dogs for adults living with PTSD or other mental health challenges. Kingston 4 Paws has a wonderful connection with much of the military community in the Kingston area, and a number of these individuals are on their waitlist to receive one of their service dogs.Kingston 4 Paws also provides Canine Assisted Intervention Dogs to treatment professionals to work as partners in therapy – particularly for local youth.

Marty Grieve, Vice-President of Kingston 4 Paws, states "We have enjoyed a special relationship with Royal Canin since the very first full year of our operations in 2014. Knowing we would be able to provide our young puppies and dogs in training the superb Royal Canin diets allowed us to concentrate on delivering the best possible dogs to the many communities we serve. To now be recognized as Royal Canin's first Service Dog Training Partnership is an enormous benefit for us, and a very humbling one."

Given the important jobs these dogs will have during their lifetime, Royal Canin recognizes that top quality nutrition is of the utmost importance to build a healthy foundation for their working careers. "We are very committed to our pet first philosophy and doing what's right for dogs," says Monica Small, Field Marketing Manager, "and we are proud to support Kingston 4 Paws and enable them to do what they do best – raising, training and placing these service dogs with individuals and families."